Entertainment

Top Five Favorite Roller Coasters at Six Flags Great America

Sarah Scheidt and Martyna Turek • November 18, 2024

Hey, Tigers! We asked you for your top five favorite roller coasters at Six Flags Great America, and the Tigers delivered. Here are your results! Along with finding out your top five favorite roller coasters, we’re also going to talk about one of the most known attractions at Six Flags Great America.

#1: Raging Bull

**This is an image of Raging Bull from Wikipedia of the entire roller coaster. Raging Bull is a five minute long ride, but the wait time can vary from 1 minute to 2 hours.**

This orange and purple steel cliff-hanger roller coaster with a 208 foot first drop hitting a max speed at 75 mph sits at number 1 with 50% of the votes. When on the ride you are held down by lap bars known as clamshell restraints. The coaster has open sides on all of the carts to make the ride more thrilling for all riders. In order to ride this coaster you need to be at least 54 inches tall. Raging Bull can be found in the Southwest Territory in Six Flags Great America. You can’t miss this coaster! The coaster was designed by Werner Stengel and manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard; it first opened on May 1st, 1999. There is no question about why this coaster is the top dog at EPHS! The Tigers enjoy the thrill and adrenaline of the first drop.

#2: Goliath

**Image of Goliath from Six Flags Great America Website. Goliath runs two carts continuously! One cart is red and the other is orange.**

Sitting in second place the wooden wonder known as Goliath had 23.2% of the votes. The coaster has a 180 foot drop, reaching top speeds of 72 mph. The first drop is an 85 degree drop. (That’s almost straight down!) It’s a thrilling wooden coaster that many say sends chills down their spine. Goliath currently holds three world records: the world’s fastest wooden roller coaster, the world’s tallest drop for a wooden roller coaster, and the world’s steepest drop for a wooden roller coaster. Designed by Alan Schilke and manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction in 2014, the coaster is one of the most popular coasters in the park. It is a hidden gem, located towards the back of the park in the County Fair section at Six Flags Great America. Riders must be at least 48” tall in order to ride Goliath. It’s a favorite with the Tigers because of the crazy loops and twists on a wooden coaster, where you are only held down by lap restraints!

#3: Viper

**Image of Viper from Six Flags Great America Website. This coaster is one of the very few wooden rides that are in the park.**

Taking third place with 12.5% of the votes is the 1995 wooden roller coaster, Viper. This coaster rises to 100 feet and reaches a top speed of 55 mph! It slithers down the first stomach-tossing drop at 50 mph and leaves riders feeling the extreme airtime. The Viper has many unpredictable twists and turns, so be prepared to be tossed by this thrilling snake! In order to ride this old serpent, which was manufactured by Six Flags Theme Parks Inc., riders have to be at least 48” tall. Find this coaster a few steps away from Raging Bull in the Southwest Territory! This coaster is on the older side but still adored by many thrill-seeking Tigers at EPHS.

#4: Sky Striker

**Image of Sky Striker from Six Flags Great America Website. The newest addition leaves people feeling in awe, making them want to ride again and again.**

Coming in fourth with 16.1% of the votes is the newest addition to the beloved Six Flags Great America, Sky Striker. This ride swings and spins you through the sky. It reaches heights of 172 feet and swings 130 degrees, nearly going upside down! In order to ride this attraction you must be at least 52” BUT no taller than 80”. This coaster was designed and manufactured by Zamperla. Sky Striker can also be found in the back of the park in the Country Fair section. Though it sits in fourth for EPHS, it is a newer ride that many Tigers may not have been able to ride yet, and it may strike its way to first in the next few years.

#5: X-Flight

**Image of X-flight from Six Flags Great America Website. This coaster takes you through a tower on your side making you feel as if your leg will hit the walls.**

Last but certainly not least is X-Flight with 14.3% of the votes. X-Flight takes you up 120 feet and dives into a high speed drop reaching 55 mph. This 2012 dive coaster rotates 180 degrees, causing riders to feel weightless. Riders must be at least 52” tall BUT no taller than 72”. It was introduced in 2012 and manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard (just like Raging Bull)! X-Flight is complete with its intense drops, near-miss moments, and FIVE inversions. This ride can be found in the County Fair section of the park, right across from the food court! The Tigers love X-Flight because it is a staple adrenaline-pumping dive coaster with many turns and twists.

Fright Fest

Although this article is about roller coasters, we couldn’t help but discuss one of the most popular Six Flags events: Fright Fest. If you’re newer to the Six Flags family, Fright Fest is a Halloween oriented event that started September 14, 2024 and ended November 3, 2024. At this event, workers dress up as spine-chilling characters that haunt their scare zones, making loud noises and sending thrilling sensations through the bodies of all guests. Scare zones are scattered throughout the park but are the only places where workers scare others. The scare zones include Demon Lair, Henchmen Alley, Nightmares, Underworld, Forbidden Forest, Lost Souls, Lost Circus, and Ride Cemetery. Some of the workers use objects like chainsaws, smoke guns, and much more to add to the spiteful spook. Fright Fest was first introduced in 1991 and has been around for 31 years. It was created by Six Flags AstroWorld in Houston, Texas, but didn’t spread until the late 1990’s.

**Images of the types of ghouls in different scare zones from Six Flags Great America website. These scary creatures will leave you trembling and fearing what’s to come.**

After reading our exciting article, we strongly encourage you to take on the stomach-flipping coasters that will certainly leave you feeling weightless and wanting more. Though Fright Fest has ended for this year, make sure to add it to your list of things to do next year if you dare to face your fears and biggest nightmares!

Works Cited:

Six Flags Great America in Chicago – Thrill Capital of the Midwest. (n.d.). Six Flags. Retrieved October 28, 2024, from https://www.sixflags.com/greatamerica
Stengel, W. (n.d.). Raging Bull (roller coaster). Wikipedia. Retrieved October 28, 2024, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raging_Bull_(roller_coaster)
Top 5 Roller Coaster at Six Flags Great America, 10, 2024

Issue #2

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About the Contributors

Sarah Scheidt, Staff Reporter

Hi, Tigers! My name is Sarah Schiedt. I am currently a sophomore at EPHS and a part of many teams and clubs at EPHS. I play soccer, basketball, and run cross country. Additionally, I’m a part of Operation Snowball, Student Council, and Varsity club. I love to spend time with my family, hang out with friends, play sports, and listen to music. In the future, I plan to go to a good college and get a job in the medical field.

Martyna Turek, Staff Reporter

Hi, Tigers! My name is Martyna Turek! I am a sophomore at EPHS. I plan to join the EPHS track team this year, and outside of school I do ballroom dance. I am Polish and can speak it fluently. My future goals are to study medicine at a good university and work in the medical field.